History is written by the victors, not the victims.

Look no further than our U.S. history textbooks, which misled generations of students with sanitized versions of our nation’s often inglorious past. The genocide of Native Americans, the slavery of black Africans, the oppression of women’s rights, and wrongly justifying unjust wars, among others — our history is littered with harsh realities.

No wonder the victors glamorized these inhumane atrocities, and continue to do so.

We are a country-in-progress still attempting to overcome our previous sins and mistakes, dating back to the American Revolution.

“Those who think that the lesson to be learned from the story of the American Revolution is simply that ‘we are the good guys’ are likely to think that we are always the good guys … ” writes David Detmer, a professor of philosophy at Purdue University Northwest.

He writes this in his new book, “Zinnophobia: The Battle Over History in Education, Politics and Scholarship,” which was prompted by a “revelation” he experienced in 2013 regarding former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels. That same year, Daniels became president of Purdue University.

In 2010, as governor, Daniels attempted to ban in state public schools the teaching of the 1980 book, “A People’s History of the United States,” by Howard Zinn. The bestseller offers a version of American history that differs substantially from previous accounts. Among other clarifications and corrections, Christopher Columbus was less of a hero and more of a ruthless explorer who was involved in slave trade of the day.

As governor, Daniels accused Zinn of being “anti-American,” urging his governmental staff to purge all of Zinn’s work from the state’s educational teachings. “This crap should not be accepted for any credit by the state,” Daniels told his staff via email.

Detmer, a former student of Zinn at Boston University in the 1970s, took offense to Daniels’ claims about Zinn and his attempts to ban Zinn’s work. Zinn, who died in 2010, was unable to defend his work against his critics, dubbed as “Zinnophobes.”

In 2013, Detmer publicly dissected Daniels’ actions in a methodical critique during a 90-minute presentation in his classroom, complete with an 18-page handout to support his premise. I attended that presentation thinking that Detmer should publish a book on this subject. Six years later, he finally did.

“The response to the book so far has been entirely positive,” said Detmer, who’s given lectures about it at seven universities and colleges, with more planned for the fall.

I asked Detmer which historical events or characters should Americans reexplore or rethink over this Fourth of July holiday. If Zinn’s contentious work taught us anything, we shouldn’t view our nation’s history through red, white and blue-colored glasses.

Detmer replied first about Columbus, who was involved in genocide and the slave trade, murdering Indians who failed to provide him with the gold he demanded.

Detmer also called out former U.S. president Andrew Jackson, who’s featured on the $20 bill. As Zinn wrote in his 1980 book, “If you look through high school textbooks and elementary school textbooks in American history you will find Jackson the frontiersman, soldier, democrat, man of the people — not Jackson the slaveholder, land speculator, executioner of dissident soldiers, exterminator of Indians.”

Detmer also mentioned Abraham Lincoln, who was indeed one of our greatest presidents with the respected nickname “Honest Abe.” However, claims were overstated that he never engaged in the dishonest tactics that other politicians routinely use in order to achieve success, Detmer said.

He also noted the Vietnam War, which was sold to the American people as a fight for freedom and democracy, “when in fact it was a violent campaign, carried out in violation of an explicit pledge, for the purpose of blocking a people from freely choosing their own leader,” Detmer’s book states.

As you can see, U.S. history is not always as we think it was.

Although we’ve been taught that the United States is an utterly unique triumph of freedom, democracy, goodness and decency, this is not the whole truth about our country. Our leaders, the victors, have lied, cheated, swindled, broke promises, violated treaties, exploited workers, bombed civilians, assassinated foreign leaders, and sabotaged elections, among other misdeeds.

This too is America the Beautiful.

As Detmer writes is his nearly 600-page book, “Instead of the standard story, in which the wise and heroic deeds of presidents, Supreme Court justices, military and business leaders, and various other wealthy and powerful elites are celebrated, Zinn makes the case that, whenever progressive change has occurred, it is resulted from the struggles of ordinary people – those who have participated in popular movements agitating for peace, for racial and sexual equality, for improved working conditions, and for environmental protection, among other similar causes.”

This alternate story continues today, with our current leaders and ongoing issues.

As we celebrate Independence Day with parades, fireworks and star-spangled talk of freedom, we should also keep in mind our nation’s factual, not fancied, history. This isn’t an indictment against Uncle Sam. It’s an insight about ourselves, then and now.

Unlike what is historically documented in the Declaration of Independence, not all truths are self-evident. It’s our patriotic duty to explore our nation’s complicated history — mistakes, misgivings and everything in between — and learn from it, thanks to Zinn, Detmer and other unflinching historians.

The Fourth of July holiday is the ideal day to do this.